Martha
My father in law with asbestosis also had heart surgery. He had a pacemaker put in. They were not related. The pacemaker was because he had a weak heart. The asbestos was in his lungs. The reason it is so bad is because your body cannot break it down, like other stuff, and so it just sits in there and mucus grabs onto it and well, a person with asbestos in his lungs coughs a lot. The asbestos can actually be seen in x-rays. Over time, the mucus gets built up and the coughing gets worse. I'm surprised that people do not ask their doctors questions and question their doctors. Remember, they are only people too. It helps to take them off of their "doctor pedistal" and demand that they are your partner in your quest to be healthy. I hope that soon they find a way to treat people that have asbestos in their lungs...